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Friday, September 20, 2013

Pound-for-Pound Update 9-20-13

With Floyd Mayweather defeating Saul Alvarez with ease and Danny Garcia scoring a unanimous decision win over Lucas Matthysse, there have been a number of changes to the Saturday Night Boxing pound-for-pound list. The updates are below:

Vitali Klitschko: It's been over a year since Klitschko's last fight and he has nothing scheduled for the rest of the 2013. Klitschko has talked about fighting one more time next year before retiring. But due to inactivity, Klitschko, who was ranked #9, drops out of the SNB Rankings.

Danny Garcia: Garcia earned a unanimous decision over Lucas Matthysse, the previously ranked #20 fighter in the SNB pound-for-pound list. Garcia scored a knockdown and had a big second half to cement the best win of his career. Garcia moves up from #16 to #9.

Saul Alvarez: Despite some shoddy scorecards, Alvarez won no more than two rounds against Mayweather. Alvarez failed to perform as well as recent Mayweather opponents such as Miguel Cotto and Oscar de la Hoya. Alvarez, who was previously ranked #17, exits the Rankings.

Lucas Matthysse: Matthysse had some strong moments in the fight against Garcia and won five rounds on two of the judges' scorecards. However, he fell short in a winnable fight and he now has to get back in line for a title opportunity. Previously ranked #20, Matthysse also exits the Rankings.

Gennady Golovkin: Golovkin has made six defenses of his middleweight title. More importantly, he has dominated increasingly better opposition. It's now been 14 fights and 5 years since he has had a fight go to the scorecards. He enters the Rankings at #18.

Leo Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz, one of the more promising young fighters in North America, recently knocked out Victor Terrazas to earn the best win of his career. Santa Cruz has now picked up belts at bantamweight and junior featherweight. As he has moved up to the world level, he continues to dominate his competition. He makes his debut on the SNB Top-20 list at #19.

Shinsuke Yamanaka: Japan's Yamanaka has now made four defenses of his bantamweight belt, including victories over former titleholders Vic Darchinyan and Tomas Rojas. Last month, Yamanaka knocked out lightly regarded Jose Nieves in the first round. Yamanaka, a southpaw, has excellent power and continues to improve. He joins the Rankings at #20.

With Saul Alvarez and Vitali Klitschko exiting the Rankings, Takashi Uchiyama and Adrien Broner both move up two spots to #16 and #17, respectively. Here is the complete SNB Top-20 Fighters list: